When people who have never met me before ask "what do you like to do for fun/hobby?", a dumbfounded look arises when I reply " I collect/grow cactus and succulent plants". They must be thinking, "how in the world did this young guy covered in tattoos, crazy hair, listening to heavy metal/rap/techno music, and driving sporty cars ever become involved with growing cactus plants?".....
Well my fascination with plants/the growth of plants goes way back to when I was a child. My father decided one day that he was going to grow a small vegetable garden in the back yard. Had he just gone to The Home Depot and purchased already germinated plants my fascination probably would have never come about. Instead he insisted on growing the vegetables from seed. Enlisting my help in the construction of the garden, my father tasked me with the daily waterings/misting of the freshly planted seed. It was here during these waterings when I first witnessed the growth of a plant from seed to vegetable bearing adult. As a very impressionable 10yr old this process completely amazed me, as well as brought about many many unanswered questions, thus sparking my interest in the plant world.
Ever since that first garden I searched for my favorite type of plant. For many years I was undecided and would go from tomato plant, to rose bush, to just plain foliage. With each plant I would try to figure out on my own what conditions the plants grow best in. Nothing at this point interested me enough to warrant a collection of family/species, non-the-less the level of difficulty of loving plants as a teenager. I look back and laugh from time to time at the fact that I would hide my plants from friends in fear of being made fun of. My plant growing/collection became a on and off hobby during this time of my life, but always remained in the back of my mind.
It wasn't until early 2003, when my older brother and I made a trip to The Home Depot, that my fascination with plants exploded once again. I saw sitting on a shelf this lonely looking plant. This plant was probably the coolest looking plant I had ever seen. It was a single stem with plastic looking rose like thorns with leaves! The only label on the plant was as such; "Hi I'm a succulent". Knowing absolutely nothing about this plant nor what in the world a succulent was I purchased it, and instantly went home and looked it up on the Internet. Come to find out it was a common species of Pachypodium. It was this little plant that opened up my world to cacti and succulents. As I read more and more into the succulent family, and read more and more on how fascinating, and unique they truly are the more I became hooked!
As time passed I would make random trips to the local HD, or Lowes to purchase more cacti either to add to the small collection, or replace the poor fellas that I over watered. Then one day while surfing the Internet trying to find better knowledge on cultivating cacti I stumble upon a cactus forum named Cactiguide.com. I began researching the masses of information on this site and soon became a member. Not only did this site open my mind to a multitude of cactus care information, it opened a huge network of nurseries/growers to obtain species of cacti I never even knew about. As you can imagine having access to this instantly created my cactus addiction we like to referr to as "Cactiholics", and just as fast my collection grew! From having 6 cactus plants on the front porch, to having over 300 cacti and over 150 cactus seedlings in under 2 years is quite an interesting thing. I like to think of it as my passion, my hobby, and my safe place. Hopefully one day you too can enjoy the experience of growing cacti/succulents. Happy Growing!
